Mitchell, OR?

Post date: Jul 17, 2011 4:42:35 PM

Thursday-Saturday, N7CGI was way out in the Oregon high desert boonies east of Mitchell helping out with a youth conference on emergency preparedness. Being the smart man that he is, he hit the CARS mailing list with request for radio contact. We ended up setting up a schedule for every 2 hours on the 80m band. With his portable communications shack, he had a convenient operating station, and aside from the peace of mind knowing that there was someone out there checking on them, it provided a great chance for the kids (and adults) to participate in amateur radio, and I had the pleasure of talking to several of them.

Lonny was operating on a G5RV antenna he strung between a tree and an aluminum tower he erected based on an article in June's QST magazine. All 3 days he maintained a great signal to my location, even when closer locations in Oregon faded out. I was just far enough away to maintain perfect skywave contact under the conditions for those days.

Saturday morning Lonny joined us on 80m for the NW N.America ERC net and the MNW Roundtable net, then after there becoming reacquainted with a fellow he hadn't seen a couple of years there, Lonny took his advice and moved up to a 20m Coast Guard net, where he reconnected with a few more friends that he hadn't seen in next to forever. Fun for all!